Pea-huller.



:PATETNTED SEPT. 22, 1903..

- E G. ALBAUGH'.

PEA HUI-LEE.

APPLIOATION nun MAR... 16, 1903.

4 sxunws-snnizcr 1.

N0 MODEL.

PATENTBD SEPT. 8, 1903.

E. G. ALBAUGH.

PEA HULLER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 16, 1993.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2..

H0 MODEL ilgzss% m: Noam PFYER: co, FHOTO-LITHQ, WASHIHLTON, u c.

No. 738,145. PATENTED SEPTQ8, 1903.

E.- G. ALBAUG'H. VPBA HULLER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 16, 1903.-

NO MODEL. I 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

No. 738,145. PATENTED gnu-8,1903;

E. G'. ALBAUGH- PEA HULLER. Anmmnmq FILED MAR. 16'. 1903. no MODEL. '4SHEETS-SHEET 4.5

UNIT ED STATES iatented September 8,

PATENT OFFICE.

PEA-HULLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 738,145, dated.September 8, 1903 Application filed March 16,1903. $erial No. 148,071.(No model.)

To all, whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDGAR G. ALBAUGH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Frederick, in the county of Frederick and State of Maryland,have invented a new and useful Pea-Huller, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to machines for hulling green peas from the vinesof that class I which embody in their general construction a revoluble,open-ended, spokeless, and shaftless outer cylinder havinginteriorly-disposed ribs in combination with interiorly-disposedrevoluble beatersand into which the peabearing vines are fed at one end,subjected to a thorough threshing and separation during their progressthrough the machine, and from which the vines and pods are delivered atthe opposite end, while the peas, threshed and separated therefrom, areconveyed to a suitable place of deposit.

My present invention has for its object to construct a machine of thisclass which shall possess superior advantages in point of simplicity,durability, and general eliiciency and in which shall be embodied newanduseful details of construction, as will be hereinafter fullydescribed, and. particularly pointed out in the claims.

In'the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of myimproved pea-huller with a portion of the perforated casing removed inorder to expose the interior construction. Fig. 2 is a front view. Fig.3 is a rear end view. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on theline 4L 4 in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view of one of theadjusting devices for the separator-apron, taken on the line 5 5 in Fig.6. Fig. 6 is asectional view of the same device, taken on the line 6 6in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a detail end view of one of the heaters. Fig. 8 isan edge view of the same, showing one of the blades in position upononeof the arms of the beater and the means for adjusting the same. Fig. 9is a detail end view of one of the devices for agitating theseparator-apron, showing in section the battens adjustably mounted uponthe same.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by similarnumerals of reference.

The framework of myimproved pea-huller' as illustrated in the appendeddrawings is composed of a rectangular base-frame 1, front and rear endframes 2 and 3, rising from said base-frame, an intermediate uprightframe 4, rising from the base-frame at no great distance from thereal-end frame, and cap-beams 5 and 6, disposed transversely andlongitudinally, as shown. The front and rear frames 2 and 3 are providedwith cross-braces 7. Mounted upon and securely bolted to saidcross-braces are boxes or bearings 8, in which are journaled shafts orspindles 9, carrying flanged wheels 10, upon which the outer or maincylinder of my improved pea-huller is supported. The said cylinder,which is designated 16, is composed of a framework com prising aplurality of longitudinal ribs 11, connected by means of braces 12, soas to form the framework of the cylinder, which in its preferredconstruction, as herein shown, is more properly described as a polygonaldrum. In the drawings this drum has been shown as being hexagonal incross-section. This framework is securely braced and connected, so as toform a structure possessing considerable strength, and at the ends ofsaid framework are mounted a pair of circular heads 13 and 14, theformer of which is disposed at the front or feed end of the machine,while the latter is at the rear or discharge end. The principal objectof these circular rings or heads is to form supporting means whereby thedrum may be supported revolubly upon the flanged wheels 10. The head 13has an opening of a size practically corresponding with thecross-sectional area bf the drum, so that the pea-bearing vines may befed into the said drum in large quantities. The head 14 at the dischargeend of the drum is provided with a disk or closure 15, which will checkthe discharge of the vines and prevent them from becoming entangled withthe operating parts of the machinery, as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed.

The drum 16, or rather the framework of said drum, is provided with acovering 17, which is preferably composed of heavy rubher in the form ofa sheet or band having perforations 18 of about five eighths of an inchin diameter or of any other suitable size which shall be consideredeffective for the,

purpose of efiecting the separation of the peas from the halm and permitthe escape of the peas through said openings. This rubber covering maybe composed of a single band or of a plurality of sections, the latterconstruction being probably preferred in order to enable repairs to bemade when needed more conveniently and'at less expense than wouldotherwise be the case. I desire at this point to state particularly thatI do not limit myself to any particular form or method of constructionof the drum, its framework, or the covering thereof. Drums of this kindhave long been used in machines employed for the hulling of peas and foranalogous purposes, and I do not wish to limit myself to any structuraldetails of the drum. ,It will, however, be particularly observed thatthe covering, consisting in this case of perforated rubber, does notextend the entire length of the framework of the machine, but isdiscontinued at that part of the drum which is disposed in alinementwith the intermediate frame 4, rising from the supporting-base of themachine. It follows from this construction that the threshed andmutilated yines and pods will be discharged from the drum between theframes 4 and 3.

The cap pieces 5 of the front and rear frames 2 and 3 support boxes orbearings 19 for a pair of longitudinallydisposed shafts 20 and 21, whichconstitute the beater-shafts of the machine. Each of these shafts isprovided with a plurality of hubs 22, disposed intercurrently upon thesaid shafts, and each is provided with a plurality of arms or spokes 23,preferably three in number, which radiate from the said hubs. These armsor ribs are preferably disposed in an inclined position or slantinglywith relation to the axes of the hubs and provided withslantingly-cut-off ends 24. These spokes or arms constitute thebeater-arms, and to their outer ends the beater-blades are secured,preferably by means of bolts 26, which, however, form loose joints, sothat the boards 25 may be tilted thereon in the direction of the lengthof the beater-shafts. The beater blades 25 'are provided on oppositesides of the connecting-bolts 26 with thumbscrews 27, the inner ends ofwhich press against the beaterarms 25, so that the tilt of thebeater-blades 25 may be regulated.

The boaters, comprising the hubs, arms, and beater-blades, are disposed,as described, intercurrently upon the two beater-shafts, and the lengthof the beater-blades is such that their ends will be disposed veryclosely together, so closely, in fact, as to exercise almost a cuttingand shearing action'upon the vines when the machine is in operation, thearms of the several beaters being obviously of sufiicient length tointersect each other, as

will be readily understood by reference to the drawings. Of theseheaters any desired number may be used, the number being gaged accordingto the-dimensions of the machine and to the relative sizes of theboaters. The latter will all be disposed within the covered portion ofthe drum, none being placed upon the portions of the beater-shafts whichextend beyond the intermediate frame 4. It may here be observed that theend disk 15 upon the rear head 14 of the drum is provided with a centralopening 28 sufficiently large to accom modate the beater shafts. This,however, will not interfere with the efiiciency of said disk in checkingthe rearward discharge of the halm.

The framework of the machine is provided with suitable boxes or bearings29 and 30 for a pair of shafts 31 and 32, supporting a pair of polygonalrollers 33 and 34, the length of which is about equal to the length ofthe covered portion of the drum and which serve to support an endlessapron or conveyor 35, which is inclined downwardly from the rear to thefront side of the machine. The rear side of the frame also supports abox 36 for the shaft 37 of an idler, which is connected by a belt 39with a pulley 40 upon the beater-shaft 21. The latter is belted to thebeater-shaft 20, which carries the drums or pulleys 41 and 42, theformer of which is tight and the latter of which is loose upon saidshaft, which through the medium of the tight pulley receives motion fromthe source of power. The boxing 30, which supports the shaft ofthe=roller at the lower end of the carrier 35, comprises in itsconstruction a plate 43, which is securely bolted to the framework ofthe machine and which is provided with an outwardly and downwardlyinclined ratchet-bar 44, having a longitudinal slot 45. 46 designates abearing-block, which is bored for the reception of a shaft "which isprovided with ratchet-teeth 47 to engage those of the ratchet-bar 44 andwith a centrally-disposed flange 48,which is guided in the slot of saidratchet-bar. The flanged portion of the bearing-block has a threadedperforation 49, adapted to receive a bolt 50, by means of which secureconnection may be efiected between the ratchet-bar and thebearing-block, as will be readily understood. This simple device enablesthe tension of the endless apron or carrier 35 to be readily adjusted atany time when it shall be found desirable to do so-as, for instance,when it may have become slack owing to long-continued use. This deviceis of no little importance in connection with my invention, for thereason that it is quite important that the endless carrier 35 be kept atall times smooth, taut, and free from wrinkles, inasmuch as otherwiseits operation and efiiciency would be seriously interfered with. By theimproved tightening device which I have just described the slack may atany time be taken up without suspending the operation of the machine.

The idler-shaft 37, as already described, is belted to the beater-shaft21, which receives motion through the shaft 20 from the source of power.The shaft 37 of the idler is provided with a pulley 51, connected by abelt 52 with a pulley 53 upon the shaft 31 at the upper end of thecarrier 35. That portion of the shaft 31 which is disposed between theintermediate and rear frames 4 and 3 of the framework is provided withpulleys 54, supporting the upper end of an endless slatted carrier 55,the lower end of which is supported upon pulleys 56, mounted upon ashaft 57, journaled in suitable boxings 58, supported upon the frame ofthe machine. Directly underneath the upper lead of the carrier 55 isdisposed a grating 59, the slats of which incline downwardly and aredisposed so closely together as to prevent the passage between them ofpeas of ordinary size. The function of this grating will be presentlymore fully described.

designates a shaft which extends longitudinally through the frame, saidshaft having its hearings in boxes 6],suitablysupported from theframework of the machine. This shaft carries a plurality of hubs 62,provided with oppositely-disposed radiating arms 63, to which heaters orknockers 6e are suitably secured by means of bolts or otherwise, theconnecting means being preferably of such a nature as to make the saidknockers radially adjustable, which may be readily effectedas, forinstance, by means of slots 65, formed therein for the reception of theconnectingbolts. These knockers are disposed directly beneath the upperlead of the endless carrier 35 and will when the shaft 60 is rotatedstrike against the under side of the apron constituting said carrier, soas to impart to the latter a vibratory motion.

The shaft 60 is driven from the shaft 31 by means of a belt 66, and abelt 67, leading from said shaft 60, serves to impart motion to anendless carrier 68 of suitable construction, whereby the trash isconveyed away from the machine to a suitable place of deposit.

Rotary motion is conveyed to the drum or cylinder from the shaft 21 byconnecting the latter by means of a twisted belt 69 with a pulley 70upon the shaft of one of the supporting-wheels 10 of said drum.

It will be observed that by belting the beater shafts together in themanner described they will be rotated in the same direction, asindicated by arrows, and that the outer cylinder will be rotated in thesame direction as the beater-shafts, as likewise indicated by an arrow.The endless carrier 35 is driven through the intermediate idler on theshaft 37 from the shaft 21 in the directionindicated by arrows, theupper lead of said carrier traveling in an upward direction. Movement inthe same direction is obviously imparted to the slatted carrier 55.

In the operation of this machine the peabearing vines are fed into thedrum at what I have chosen to designate the front end of the latter.Immediately on entering the drum the vines are seized upon by therotating heaters, with the effect that they are violently torn asunderand subjected to a beating and threshing action which will very rapidlydisintegrate the vines, break open the pods, and permit the peas toescape through the openings in the foraminous covering of the drum. Theribs 11, which constitute a portion of the framework of the drum, alsoserve as vine-elevators, whereby such vines as come into contact withthe interior surface of said drum will be elevated, seized upon by theheaters upon the shaft 20, and carried upwardly and over the latter andinto contact with the heaters upon the shaft 21. It will be observed,however, that owing to the inclined or what may be described as thespiral arrangement of the blades or boards of the heaters the vines arenot only seized, but are carried forward as Well, so that when passingfrom the beaters of one shaft to the heaters of the other shaft theywill be subjected to a cutting or shear-like action, which will be foundextremely effective in reducing and disintegrating the same, so as toinsure a thorough and effective separation of the peas. By the time thevines by the feeding action to which they are subjected by the plates ofthe heaters have reached the discharge end of the machine it will befound that practically all of the peas have been extracted, very few ofthe peas remaining in the vines. From the uncovered end of the drum orcylinder disposed between the frames 4 and 3 the vines are dischargedupon the slatted conveyer 55; but the peas, having escaped through theopenings in the foraminous cover of the drum, will drop upon the smoothendless conveyer 35, together with such small portions of trash, dirt,and the like as may escape with the peas through the said openings. Thepeas will here be separated from the dirt and trash by rolling down theincline of the endless oonveyer 35 in a direction opposite to themovement of the latter and into a receptacle or suitable place ofdeposit provided at the lower end of said inclined carrier 35. The dirtand trash, however, will not roll off the carrier, but will adherethereto until the upper end of the upper lead is reached, when, theapron passing in adownward direction, such worthless material Will bedischarged, as will be readily understood. It is obvious that theseparation of the peas from the trash will be greatly assisted by theVibrating motion which is imparted to the endless apron 35 not only bymeans of the heaters disposed underneath the upper lead of said apron,but also owing to the polygonal shape of the rollers upon which saidapron is supported.

Nhen the Vines and pods are dropped upon the slatted carrier 55, the fewpeas remaining therein will have an opportunity of escaping between theslats of said carrier and onto the inclined screen or grate 59. Thisgrating will permit fine trash to escape between the bars thereof, whilethe peas will roll in a downward direction upon said bars and into asuitable receptacle provided for their reception. The endless carrier 68receives the halm and conveys the latter to any desired place ofdeposit, which may be located at a distance from the pea-huller.

A valuable feature of my-invention is that it is capable of being fedautomatically by machinery of suitable description as well andefiectively as by hand. Most pea-hullers as heretofore constructed havebeen capable of being fed by hand only, it having been found necessaryto tear asunder the tangled mass of vines before entering the machine inorder that the said vines might be effectually operated upon, therebeing a natural tendency for the vines to work together and to becomeintertwisted into a compact mass or ball, resulting in only a partialseparation of the peas from the vines or pods. By my improved machinethe tendency of the beatersis to tear the mass of "ines asunder, so thatevery part shall be helabored by the said heaters, with the result ofefiecting a thorough separation.

I desire it to be understood that while I have in the foregoingdescribed a simple and preferred construction of my improved peahuller Ido not limit myself to the precise structural details herein described,but reserve the right to any changes and alterations which mayberesorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of my inventionand without sacrificing the utility of the same.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a pea-huller, thecombination with a revoluble, spokeless and shaftless drum, of shaftsdisposed longitudinally within said drum,and heaters intersecting eachother and arranged intercurrently upon the said shafts.

2. In a pea-huller, the combination with a revolubly-supported drum, ofa pair of longitudinal peripheral beater shafts within said drum, andheaters disposed intercur rently upon said shafts and so intersectingeach other that the blades of said heaters shall coact with a cutting orshear-like action.

3. In a pea-huller, a revolubly-supported spokeless and shaftless drum,heater-shafts disposed longitudinally within said drum and heatersdisposed intercurrently upon said shafts, said heaters comprising hubshaving radial, inclined arms with oblique outer ends,

and blades mounted adjustably to the outer ends of said arms.

4. In a pea-huller, a heater comprising a hub having a plurality ofradially-disposed, inclined arms, blades loosely bolted to the outerends of said arms and set-screws extending through said blades andbearing against the arms to provide for the adjustment of the tilt orinclination of said blades.

5. In a pea-huller, a pea-separating device comprising a smooth endlesscarrier disposed in an inclined position, a shaft disposed beneath theupper lead of said carrier and radiallyadj ustahle devices carried bysaid shaft to impact against the under side of and thereby agitating theupper lead of said carrier.

6. In a pea-huller, the combination with the hulling-drum, of aseparating device consisting of an endless carrier disposed in aninclined position beneath the said hullingdrum, supports for saidendless carrier, consisting of polygonal drums, and auxiliary,radially-adjustable means for agitating the upper lead of said carrierat a point intermediately between said supporting-drums.

'7. In apea-huller, a separating device comprising a smooth endlesscarrier, a shaft disposed beneath the upper lead of said carrier andhaving hubs provided with radiating arms, and battens mounted adjustablyupon said radiating arms and serving to agitate the upper lead of saidcarrier.

8. In a pea-huller, a pea-separating device consisting of .a smoothinclined endless carrier mounted upon rollers, stationary supports forthe upper roller, brackets mounted upon the frame of the machine havingdownwardly and outwardly inclined ratchet-bars provided withlongitudinal slots, bearingblocks having ratchet-bars engaging those ofthe inclined ratchet-bars, and provided with centrally-disposed flangesguided in the slots of said ratchet-bars, means for connecting saidratchet-bars and hearing-blocks in adjusted position, and a lowerroller-shaft for the endless carrier journaled in said bearingblocks.

9. In a pea-huller having a revolubly-supported culling-drum closed atone end, open at its opposite or receiving end and provided with aforaminous cover terminating short of the closed end of the drum, aslatted endless carrier disposed beneath the discharge-opening betweenthe for-aminous cover and the closed end of the drum, and an inclinedgrate disposed beneath the upper lead of said endless carrier.

10. In a pea huller, a tailings-separator comprising a slatted endlesscarrier disposed in aninclined position beneath the discharge end of thehulling-drum, and an inclined grating disposed between the upper lead ofsaid carrier, extending under the entire length of said upper lead andhaving its slats set *close together so as to prevent the escape ofvaluable matter therehetween.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own Ihave hereto aflfixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDGAR G. ALBAUGI-I.

Witnesses:

CHAS. B. T. HENDRICKSON, AARON RosENs'rooK.

